


Off the Path

by nlg734



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Gen, Tumblr: Natsume Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:34:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25122496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nlg734/pseuds/nlg734
Summary: Written for Natsume Week 2020, Day 7: Outsider Perspective
Kudos: 22





	Off the Path

There was no getting around it. I was lost. I came to the forest to get some fresh air, a change of scenery. I left the path, since I didn’t really want to be found, but had intended to keep it within view so that I could easily return. It seemed, however, that as soon as I left it, the path was gone. It felt as though I got turned around immediately. Now I was in the middle of the forest with no clue as to which way I needed to go to get out.

I took a deep breath, and moved to go back the way I thought I came from. It didn’t take long for me to realize I didn’t really know where I came from, that I didn’t recognize anything. The shadows in the forest got shorter as morning turned to day, making it harder to know where North went. I gave up trying to find my way out, resigning myself to waiting for sunset to try again.

Then I heard him.

I turned and stopped. Somehow, I was at the edge of a clearing. Instinct told me not to go in, so instead I crouched near a bush and looked around. What I found was quite the pretty picture; I felt I had no business seeing this.

The clearing was, in a word, colorful. It was as if someone had gotten different flower seeds and covered the place with them without a care as to what went where. Irises, buttercups, lilies, peonies, and many more I didn’t know the names for. Butterflies and moths flitted about above the flowers. Even a clear brook babbled through, the sun glinting off of its bumpy surface. The trees encompassing the clearing only added to it. Wisteria and cherry trees bloomed into the clearing. Maple and cypress added splashes of green along the clearing edge. I wondered, briefly, what it would like in another season.

The inhabitants were just as eye-catching. A small brown fox was jumping through the flowers, trying to play with the insects flying above. A—what even was that, really?—cat-thing that looked too much like a lucky cat to be moving lounged next to a boy. The boy, whose laughter had caught my attention, looked like he belonged here, amidst the various colors. His silver hair was complemented by the pretty petals and glinting water. His green eyes shone much like the leaves of the trees around him. He looked to be at peace there as he gently petted the cat-thing and watched the fox play. At times, he seemed to react to and converse with something I couldn’t see.

I was enraptured by what I found. Everything seemed so serene, so impossible. I had never heard of this place, and it looked as though it probably shouldn’t exist. Something was off, and I didn’t know if it was the clearing itself or the boy and his companions. I wanted to call out—maybe he could help me find my way—but something stopped me, just as it had stopped me from jumping into the clearing in the first place.

In the back of my mind, I could feel a dull sense of fear taking place. It felt as though I was being watched. I sighed quietly. This may have been my only chance of making it out, but sometimes you had to trust your instincts. I couldn’t, shouldn’t, disturb the scene. With that thought, I snuck away. It wasn’t more than a few paces and I was back to where I belonged. I turned to look behind me, only to see the forest as it should have been. I no longer felt what I had by that clearing. A little bewildered, I headed down the path towards home. I knew I would see nothing of that clearing a second time.

Next time, I’ll stick to the path.


End file.
